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Document Details : Title: Latin, Liberty, and Human Rights Subtitle: Pieter Burman the Younger's Circle and Revolutionary Thought in the Eighteenth Century Author(s): VERHAART, Floris Journal: Humanistica Lovaniensia Volume: 71 Issue: 1 Date: 2022 Pages: 79-114 DOI: 10.2143/HLO.71.1.3292316 Abstract : This article presents a case study and contextualization of the Latin poetry of Pieter Burman the Younger (1713-1778) and his literary circle. It also shows how this poetry was then used by Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau (1749-1791) to illustrate his political theories. In so doing, the article demonstrates three points. First of all, Latin allowed different Enlightenment milieux – often in different countries or regions – to interact with one another. Second, knowledge of Latin and a strong sense of what constituted good stylistic usage in this language were seen as vital to participation in Enlightenment debates on issues such as politics and religious toleration. Third, the study of Latin sources produced in the eighteenth century can offer a new perspective on historiographical debates regarding the intellectual coherence of the Enlightenment and its relationship with other intellectual traditions, such as Renaissance Humanism. |
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